How to Create Snow in Affinity Photo

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create snow in Affinity Photo.

Before you begin, go to the following links to download the images and brushes used in the tutorial.

• Mountain range
• Man with snowboard
• Grunge/Konkrete brushes

Step 1

First, go to File > Open and select the image you downloaded. Then, press CTRL + J to duplicate the image and turn the original image off.

Step 2

Click the Adjustments icon in the Layers Panel and select the HSL adjustment. Select the Yellow Channel. Set the Saturation Shift to -80 percent and Luminosity Shift to 75%.

Step 3

Now, click the Adjustments icon. Select the Black and White adjustment. Increase the yellow and green. I set the Yellow to 217% and the Green to 227%. Then, slightly increase the cyan and the blue. I set the Cyan to 130% and the Blue to 132%.

Step 4

Next, go to the Channels Panel. Right-click on any of the channels and click Load to Pixel Selection.

Step 5

In the Layers Panel, click the Add Pixel Layer. Now, go to the Swatches Panel. Double click on the fill color to bring up the Color Chooser and enter the following hex code #FFFAFA. Then, go to the Edit menu and select Fill with Primary Color. Press CTRL + D to deselect. Turn the Black and White adjustment layer off in the Layers Panel. Label this layer Snow Selection.

Step 6

Select the HSL adjustment. Then, select the Blend Ranges icon in the Layers Panel. To add some of the colors back, slide the left point on the Underlying Composition Ranges down.

Step 7

In the Layers Panel, click the Add Pixel Layer icon. Go to the Grunge/Konkrete texture brushes link. Scroll down and click the Download link. Go to the file and extract it. Then, go to the extracted file. Right-click on it and select Open with Affinity Photo if it’s not an Affinity Photo file.

Step 8

Click the pixel layer we added. Grab the Paintbrush Tool from the Tools Panel. Now, go to the Brushes Panel. Go to the Konkrete brushes you downloaded. Select the Steaz Konkrete 1 brush. In the Context Toolbar, set the Opacity to 50% and the Flow to 80%. Take the brush and start painting on the ground area to add some snow. Also, add some snow to the parts of land that have little to no snow. Label this layer Ground Snow.

Step 9

Now, go to File > Open and select the image of the man. Grab the Selection Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. In the Context Toolbar, set the Mode to Add and check the Snap to Edges box. Take the brush and make a selection of the man. Press CTRL + J to place a copy of the selection onto a new layer. Then, press CTRL + D to deselect. Copy the layer of the man and paste it onto the snow document.

Step 10

After that, go to the Layers Panel and click the Add Pixel Layer icon. Grab the Paintbrush Tool from the Tools Panel. In the Context Toolbar, set the Opacity to 50% and the Flow to 80%. Make sure the pixel layer is selected. Next, go to the Swatches Panel and make sure the fill color is set to the off-white color we’ve been using for the snow which is #FFFAFA. Take the brush and add some snow to the man’s boots. Along the side of his outer pants leg and the bottom part of the pants by the boots. Also, add snow on the man’s shoulders and the outer sleeve of the man’s jacket. Now, add some snow to the man’s hat and snowboarding glasses. Once you’ve done hat, increase the Opacity of the brush to about 85%. Then, take the brush and add some snow to the snowboard. Label this layer Snow on Man.

Step 11

In the Layers Panel, click the Add Pixel Layer to add a new layer. Next, go to the Swatches Panel and set the fill color to black. Grab the Flood Fill Tool from the Tools Panel. Make sure the new layer we added is selected. Then, take the tool and click on the document.

Step 12

With the new layer selected, go to the Filters menu. Then, go to Noise > Add Noise. Set the Intensity to 100%. Set it to Gaussian and check the Monochromatic box. Change the Blend Mode to Screen.

Step 13

Press CTRL + J two times to duplicate the layer. Select the second duplicated layer. Go to the Filters menu. Now, go to Blur > Motion Blur. Set the Radius to 25 px and the Rotation to 225 degrees. Select all three of the snow layers we just added. Press CTRL + G to group them together and label the group Falling Snow.

Congratulations, this tutorial is complete! You now know how to create snow in Affinity Photo. For more Affinity Photo tutorials, check out this article on how to create fog and smoke.